First GvHD Symposium to Bring Nation's Leading Blood Cancer and Bone Marrow Transplant Specialists to Cleveland

Dual-Track Medical Conference To Focus on Cutting-Edge Research and Treatments

CLEVELAND, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation, will bring the first national educational conference on Graft vs. Host Disease (GvHD) to Cleveland on Thursday, Nov. 4, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Corporate College East, 4400 Richmond Road, Warrenville Hts. GvHD is a life-threatening complication experienced by an estimated 60 percent of all leukemia and other blood cancer patients following bone marrow transplantation. There is currently no cure.

The symposium is free of charge for patients and their families. The registration fee is $100 for MDs and PhDs, $75 for nurses and other health professionals and $25 for students, post-doctoral candidates and fellows. The program includes seven CME credits. Reservations are required for both the public and healthcare professionals. Online registration is available at www.gvhdsymposium.org.

The conference will feature the nation's foremost physicians, surgeons, research scientists, educators and other specialists in the fields of hematology/oncology, bone marrow transplantation and immunology. Experts from more than a dozen of the nation's preeminent cancer research and treatment facilities will be teaching. The symposium will include two tracks: a scientifically rigorous one for physicians and other medical practitioners, and a survivor/patient track focusing on educational resources and support. A special Q & A session at the end of the day will provide survivors with unprecedented access to the nation's leading medical researchers and specialists all in one location.

"Too many patients are suffering from this devastating disease, and too little money is available for research," said Gerald Cowden, chairman of the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation. "Tragically, thousands of GvHD patients die each year. The complication presents itself in so many forms that doctors are unable to do more than treat each symptom as it arises. This symposium unites key individuals whose work is leading to significant improvements in the lives of GvHD patients."

Cowden, a Cleveland attorney, founded the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation in 2007, after his daughter, Meredith, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer that starts inside bone marrow. This symposium is an outgrowth of the Cowden family's dream, and the mission of the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation http://www.cowdenfoundation.org/, to play a significant role in impacting breakthrough GvHD research. For more information, visit www.gvhdsymposium.org.